Tantra Facts for Kids

Tantra (Sanskrit: तन्त्र "weave" meaning continuity), tantricism or tantrism is the name for a number of traditions from Indian religions. These traditions are usually esoteric in their nature. Tantra exists in Hindu, Bönpo, Buddhist, and Jain forms. Tantra in its various forms has existed in South Asia, China, Japan, Tibet, Korea, Cambodia, Burma, Indonesia and Mongolia.

Tantra is derived from 2 words - "Tanoti" (Liberation of energy) and "Trayati" (Expansion of consciousness).

Second Revised Edition

Bühnemann, Gudrun (1988). The Worship of Mahāgaṇapati According to the Nityotsava. Institut für Indologie. ISBN 81-86218-12-2. First Indian Edition, Kant Publications, 2003.

Second revised reprint edition. Two volumes. First published 1927 by the University of Calcutta.

Images for kids

A Buddhist dhāraṇī (incantation), the Nilaṇṭhanāmahṛdaya dhāraṇī, in Siddham Script with Chinese transliteration.
A modern aghori with a skull-cup (Kapala). Their predecessors, the medieval Kapalikas ("Skull-men") were influential figures in the development of transgressive or "left hand" Shaiva tantra.
Dancing Bhairava in the Indian Museum, Kolkata
Illustration of a yogi and their chakras.
Twelve-Armed Chakrasamvara and His Consort Vajravarahi, ca. 12th century, India (Bengal) or Bangladesh
A stone Kālacakra Mandala at the Hiraṇyavarṇa Mahāvihāra, a Buddhist temple in Patan, Nepal built in the 12th century.
A depiction of the Goddess Bhairavi and Shiva in a charnel ground, from a 17th century manuscript.
The Brihadishvara Temple, a Śaiva Siddhānta temple in Tamil Nadu
Śrī, also known as Lalitā Tripurasundarī ("beautiful in three worlds"), Adi Parashakti (the highest supreme energy), Kāmeśvarī (goddess of desire) and other names.
A Kali Puja (devotional ritual)
A Pujari in front of a Ganesha statue, Brihadishwara Shiva Temple
A meditating Shiva is visited by Parvati
Sri Yantra diagram with the Ten Mahavidyas. The triangles represent Shiva and Shakti; the snake represents Spanda and Kundalini.
The Sri Yantra (shown here in the three-dimensional projection known as Sri Meru or Maha Meru, used primarily by Srividya Shakta sects).